Give me subsidy, I'm alive: Belagavi farmer battles records that declared him dead 5 years ago

BELAGAVI: "I'm alive, not dead." Irappa Nagappa Abbai's one-line plea is as simple and dire as it's shocking. Having been declared dead in office records for five years, Irappa, 53, is up against the seemingly incredulous task of proving he's, indeed, alive. And that he's not a walking ghost.

Irappa is a sugarcane farmer with a small landholding in Sutagatti in Savadatti taluk. He learnt about his death accidentally when he went to Murgod office in Belagavi district in 2025 to collect documents to apply for govt's drip irrigation scheme through the minor irrigation department. If approved, he would get up to Rs 3 lakh in subsidy.

What's standing between Irappa and a financial lifeline is an official record that declares he "died" on July 8, 2021 - along with his son - effectively rendering him ineligible for any govt benefits. For the past five months, the farmer has been running from one office to another to present his case - and in flesh and blood - that he's alive.

Each trip between Murgod Nada Kacheri and Savadatti tahsildar's office is about one and a half hours long and filled with anxiety and uncertainties. Officials informed him that rectifications of this nature require a formal procedure and cannot be done immediately at the local level.

An inquiry revealed the error occurred due to a mistake by the local village accountant, who inadvertently entered Irappa's death in the govt database. Savadatti tahsildar Mallikarjun Heggannavar told TOI that a notice was subsequently issued to the village accountant and a department inquiry ordered. "If negligence is proved, appropriate action (against the worker) will be initiated," he said.

The tahsildar said Irappa's son died in 2021. While issuing the son's death certificate, the village accountant mistakenly recorded the father also as deceased. "After Irappa approached me, I accepted his application and initiated the process for rectification. A report was sent to the district statistical office in Belagavi and forwarded to Bengaluru. The correction process is under way and may take about 20 days," he added.

Irappa said the error has deprived him of govt welfare benefits for months. "I wanted to apply for the drip irrigation scheme for my farm, but because I was declared dead on paper, everything came to a halt. This mistake cost me nearly 6 months," he said.